Open AccessCoal, Cumulative Impacts, and the Great Barrier Reef
Author(s) -
Grech A.,
Pressey R.L.,
Day J.C.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/conl.12208
Subject(s) - cumulative effects , great barrier reef , climate change , world heritage , environmental resource management , environmental planning , environmental impact assessment , coal mining , greenhouse gas , reef , environmental science , impact assessment , geography , natural resource economics , environmental protection , coal , oceanography , tourism , geology , political science , ecology , archaeology , public administration , law , economics , biology
The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia, covers over 348,000 km 2 of tropical marine ecosystems of global significance. In July 2015, the World Heritage Committee called attention to the cumulative impacts of climate change, poor water quality, and coastal development on the region's outstanding universal value, but stopped short of inscribing the Great Barrier Reef on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Restoring the region's values is hindered by an environmental decision‐making process that fails to incorporate cumulative impacts, including the climate change impacts of greenhouse gas emissions sourced from one of Australia's largest exports, thermal coal. We identify policy and processes that enable a more comprehensive consideration of the cumulative effects of coal mining by environmental decision‐makers. Implementing cumulative impact assessment requires a collaborative and transparent program of planning and monitoring independent of Government and mine proponents that evaluates local, regional, and global impacts. The future of the Great Barrier Reef depends on transformational change in the cumulative assessment of Australian coal mines.